Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1887-07-14
THE INDIAN SuvERALTY LAW

THE INDIAN SuvERALTY LAW.
Some twenty five years ago the people
in different parts Of the west, who had
had experience with Indians and knew
their habits and passions, and their
tractability in assuming the arts and the
habit. OF civilization, conceived the idea
that under favorable circumstances they
could be induced to abandon their
nomadic and wandering lite and become
localized and cease their predatory and
warlike excursions among neighboring
tribes and among whites, scattering death
and devastation in their tracks. This
led to the idea of collecting them upon
reservations and disarmins them and
placing them under agents and teachers,
and furnishing them food and clothing
at the expense of the government. The
idea Of making themselves sustaining
seemed too remote Tor the conception of
the men who felt charity for Lo and
would be glad to alleviate his condition.
They wanted to chris,ianize him first in
order to subdue his propensity for war
and blood shed, relying more upon
miraculous power Of divine grace through
religious teaching Of theories than upon
those elements in his character, which
could be stimulated by his love of gain
through his industry. Years of expert
menting with him upon reservations, and
the expenditure Of millions of dollars Of
government money through agents and
teachers, without developing hardly a
nucleus Of christianity among them, at
any rate not enough to prevent them
from breaking away from the reserva-
tions, when not restrained by powerful
military force to hold them in check,
and when they did break away they
became two fold more the children of
tho devil ready for rapine and war, than
if they had never been upon reserva-
ton. They had never been taught the
habits Of industry, and Of acquisitiveness
by means of their individual and person
al industry. What they did produce
went into common stock, and no one
acqaired anything that he could call his
own. There was no incentive to indi
vidual labor and acquisition of property
and as long as he could get his food and
blankets from the government without
labor, he was inclined to shiitlcssness and
idleness, and he was left to mediate
mischief and war wherever he saw an
opportunity. He had no land he could
individually call his own The products
OF his labor whether in grain, horses or
cattle, all was subject to reservation con
troll. No wonder he could not be con.
tent with life Of such listlessness upon
a reservation, and hence large standing
army has been requisite to keep Indians
upon most Of the reservations in or near
an Indian country. Had the govern
ment, quarter of a century ago, instead
fostering and feeding them upon reserva.
lions aud teaching them religious theo.
ries without labor, set apart a tract CT
land for each family and taught them the
rudimenss Of properly cultivating it, aud
make them to understand the principal
Of "root hog or die" upon that land,
they would have been thus one quarter
Of century in advance of what they are
now, and thousands of lives of our citi-
zens would have been saved from sacri.
flee BY the hand OF the ruthless savage.
educated to be such by mistaken policy
Of our government towards them. Al,
who have had to do with Indians became
convinced in few years that the reser-
vation system, as then conducted, fe.l
far short Of effectins the good intended,
and that some other method must be
adopted to effectually subdue ard har-
monte the Indian. That the white aud
Indian races could not exist in peace till
me two races were brought upon the
same plane of intelligence in respect to use
OF labor aud its effects in subduing a
thirst for war and roaming, aud stimulat,
ing desire for peace. Religious teach
ing alone to an unskiled savage without
the love of labor, and alone for the pro-
ducts OF honest labor, unattended by
theft, robbery and butchery of whites or
Indians, had failed to progress the
Indian. But the question was, what
rll do this? It was soon conceived that